Broken Hearts
by VeganVampy
Summary: Three girls fall in love. Their hearts are broken when their boyfriends leave to join the Akatsuki. Will they be able to regain the love and companionship of their lovers?
1. Kiritsu

Prologue 1: Kiritsu

A tall, black-haired, onyx-eyed teen walked down an abandoned alleyway towards a secluded area, away from all civilization. Holding his hand and walking with him was a teenage girl, a little shorter than him, with pale red hair and silver eyes.

"How have you been?" The girl asked, looking questioningly at the boy.

"Fine. You?" He responded shortly.

"Good. How's your brother?" The girl responded.

"He's fine. Pushy as ever." He answered, turning to look at the girl with a slight smile. She smiled back, then randomly questioned, "How far is it?"

The boy chuckled. "We're almost there, Kiritsu. You're as impatient as ever."

She attempted to glare at him. "Shut up, Itachi."

This time he actually laughed out loud. She pouted. "You still can't glare to save your life Kiri. I think for once I actually agree with Koori, you're too nice."

"And?" She questioned, daring him to make fun of her further. Not that anything would happen. She never took offense at anything, and it was almost impossible to make her mad. The only person who had ever been able to get under her skin had died years ago.

Itachi grinned. "You admit it too. Why in the world did you want to be a ninja if you can't even glare?"

Kiritsu's eyes hardened. "You know why. If I can't protect the people close to me, I might as well not even bother living." She had spoken harshly, with bitterness.

Itachi sighed, then scooped her up in his arms and darted towards their destination. "Hey!" She yelled as he flew over the rooftops. He grinned down at her. She sighed in resignation. When the grin turned into a smirk, she gulped. "Uh oh..." she muttered as Itachi started laughing at her, the sound echoing in the treetops they now traveled through.

-Backstory-

_The two had met when Itachi had found Kiritsu beat up in an alleyway several years ago. He had taken her to the hospital, and when she was well enough to go be released, he had made sure she made it home alright, to her annoyance. A few days later, they met again. The girl was running errands around the town, anything from dusting to dragging huge boxes to shopping for someone. She collected a small wage from each of these jobs, putting the meager earnings in a small pouch she carried at her waist. Itachi had scolded her for working so soon after being let out of the hospital, and she had quietly responded that she had to work if she wanted to eat. This had shocked the boy. _

"_**Don't you live with your parents?"** He had asked. **"Why can't they get you food?"** The girl responded with a sad smile, saying, **"My parents died before I came to this village."** The boy had stared at her for a few moments in surprise, then grabbed her wrist and dragged her after him. She yanked on her wrist, trying to get away, and yelled, **"Let go! Where are you trying to take me?"** No one even looked at the two. The boy smirked at her, and her eyes widened a little in fear. Then his smirk softened into a smile. _

"_**I'm taking you to my house. You're going to stay with me until you're better."** The mysterious girl had frozen in shock, then started frantically pulling on her wrist, trying to wrench her hand free and run. As fast as she was, even if she had gotten free she wouldn't have gotten away. Itachi was a ninja at this point in time. The younger Itachi looked at her confusedly, then pulled her a little closer, trying to calm her down. The girl had panicked at this and started thrashing, bracing her feet against the ground and twisting while hitting the young Uchiha's hand. As she was doing this, her eyes flashed red. Itachi, surprised, almost accidentally let go of her arm. Then, he quickly grabbed her other wrist, tightening his hold on the first, and pulled her towards him so she would have to look him directly in the eyes. _

"_**What was that?"** He had asked her, trying to hold her eyes. Her eyes were frantically darting around his face, terror evident on her features. He squeezed her wrists harder, making her wince, and she locked eyes with him. They were, at this point, in an abandoned alleyway, Itachi having been taking a shortcut. She started pulling backwards again, once more trying to get away. He growled at her and she froze, her eyes wide as saucers, staring straight into his. _

"_**I asked you a question. What was that? With your eyes?"** He asked her in a low, slightly threatening voice. She just continued staring at him, terrified. **"Tell me."** He growled again, activating his sharingan. The girl let out an ear piercing scream. Itachi let go of her wrists, holding his ears, and she stumbled back and fell down against the wall. He took his hands off his ears and stood up straight again, cautiously walking towards her. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her head with her arms, pulling her knees to her chest. Itachi walked over to her and gently but firmly pulled her arms away from her head. He held her wrists in one hand and pulled her head up with the other. **"Who are you?"** He asked softly, trying to calm the strange girl. She pulled back into herself as much as she could with Itachi holding her, and squeezed her eyes shut tighter. _

"_**It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."** He told her soothingly, trying to get her to open her eyes and stop fighting. Her arms tensed, her hand clenching into fists, and she abruptly snapped her head up, pushing herself slightly off the wall, and locked eyes with him again. This time though, her eyes were a brilliant red, slightly lighter than the sharingan, without the black dots. She glared angrily at him, screaming, **"That's what they all say! Every single one of them, right before they beat me up! Leave me alone!"** She threw him off, now completely enraged. He got back up and started to come towards her again, but she growled at him, a feline, throaty sound, and he stopped, staring curiously at her. **"If you come within five feet of me I will beat the living crap out of you."** The girl threatened. Itachi just stared at her, waiting for her to calm down. He had ascertained that the girl did not have the sharingan now, but he was still curious as to what she did have. _

_Her eyes slowly started to fade from the brilliant red back to the pale silver and the anger faded from her features, all of her muscles relaxing. She looked warily at Itachi, seemingly having lost the ability to fight. He approached her cautiously. She showed no signs of movement. The boy stopped about a foot in front of her. **"What was that? What you just did?"** He asked her gently now, afraid she would become upset again. She continued to stare straight back at him, silently, but now a hint of a different kind of fear from before hid in her eyes: the fear of being hated. The now silent girl turned and began to walk away. Itachi was in front of her in an instant. She looked up at him, her eyes dull, and tried to step around him, but he grabbed her forearms and forced her to face him. She did not try to pull away this time, seeming to not care. _

"_**Who are you?" **He whispered, almost as if asking himself. She stood there passively. **"Answer me." **He ordered the girl, who merely turned towards the alley exit and started walking again, not even bothering to try and get him to release her arms. He jerked her back, and stepped towards her. She mimicked his movement, stepping back. This process repeated until the girl's back was to a wall. Then, Itachi put his face right in front of hers, their noses almost touching, and said, **"You are not leaving here until you tell me who you are and what you did back there."** He told her, having realized that trying to coax it out of her wasn't going to work. The girl leveled her gaze with his, then her eyes slowly drifted closed, her body going limp. The girl had fainted. Itachi sighed, then picked her up and carried her to his house. He locked his bedroom door and laid her down on the bed._

_When the girl woke, she sat up on the bed in a kneeling position. Itachi watched her in secret from the corner of the room. She took in her surroundings, then sniffed the air. This severely confused Itachi. Why was she sniffing the air? He couldn't smell anything weird, and his room was spotless. After a few moments, she crawled out of the bed, still lightly sniffing the air, and slowly walked over to where Itachi was. She put her hand out and started running it along the wall. It was pitch dark in his room, there was no possible way she could see. The only way he could see was because he had activated his sharingan. Right before her hand touched his face, he grabbed it and stepped out, flicking on a light. **"How did you find me?" **he asked in astonishment. Terror filled her eyes and she jumped away from him. He stayed put. _

"_**What?"** he asked, confused. **"What did I do?"** The girl cautiously raised a hand and pointed at his eyes. He remembered her reaction to the sharingan the day before and switched it off. She visibly relaxed. **"Why are you afraid of the sharingan?"** He asked her curiously. She smiled slightly. _

"_**You ask a lot of questions."** she said quietly. He growled at her. She studied him curiously. **"You are human, right? You smell like one."** _

_Itachi gave her a weird look and said,** "What else would I be? Of course I'm human."** The girl smiled softly and said, **"I wasn't sure. You growl a lot and the red eyes are abnormal for humans, are they not?"** _

_Itachi gave her a suspicious look, then said, **"You talk as if you aren't one."** She smiled again and said, **"That is for another time and place." **Itachi sighed and walked towards her. She stepped back, keeping a safe distance away from him. He followed. After a while of this, he asked her, **"Why do you keep running away from me? I think it's been established that I'm not going to hurt you. Why are you afraid of me?" **The girl seemed slightly angered by this statement, and increased the distance between the two and closing her eyes, speaking silently to herself. Itachi was tempted to re-activate the sharingan so he could read her lips, but he didn't want to make the situation worse. After about a minute, the girl looked up, now completely calm again. _

_Itachi asked the question he had asked multiple times the day before. **"Who are you?"** The girl smiled at him and said, **"My name is Kiritsu. What is yours?"** _

"_**Itachi Uchiha. What's your last name?"** The girl shrugged her shoulders. **"I don't remember."**_

"_**Don't lie to me. How could you forget your last name?"** _

_The girl sighed, then said, **"I haven't used my last name the entire time I've been here. I believe I was three when I became a citizen of Konoha. I don't remember my last name, though I'm sure I have one."** Itachi studied her face for a sign of lying, but none was present. She stayed at the Uchiha household in Itachi's room for a week before he allowed her to go home. That was when Itachi was 9, and Kiritsu was 7. Seven years ago. Their acquaintance soon became friendship, and their bond slowly but steadily strengthened as time went by. By ages 13 and 11, they were best friends. Three months before the present time, they had begun dating._

-End backstory-

The two continued traveling towards their secret place, a beautiful clearing at the top of a large slope surrounded by trees. No ninja patrol ever came out quite this far, so they were never interrupted, the beauty never marred.

They landed in the clearing, and Itachi set Kiritsu gently down, making a big show of it. She rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead. He laughed, poking hers back. They sat down side by side to watch the sunset, Kiritsu leaning her head on his shoulder while he set his chin on top of her head. As the sun lit up the horizon, Itachi sat up, making Kiritsu turn and stare at him confusedly. "Kiri, I need to talk to you about something serious." Itachi told her quietly.

"What is it?" Kiritsu asked, now slightly concerned. She sat up on her knees and faced Itachi.

Itachi took her hands in his and held them tightly. She waited patiently. He took a deep breath, then said, "Kiritsu, I have to leave."

Kiritsu failed to see the problem. "We can just meet here again tomorrow. Don't worry about it. If you have to go, go." Itachi smiled sadly.

"No, Kiri. I'm not going to see the Hokage, or even on a mission. I'm leaving Konoha. Forever."

Kiritsu stared at his face for a moment, not being able to comprehend what he was saying. Then a tear slid down her face. Itachi placed a hand on her face and wiped it away with his thumb. Kiritsu grabbed his hand, holding on tightly.

"No..." she whispered. "You can't... what about your family? Think this through Itachi, if you leave you'll become a missing nin. Don't do this to yourself. Please, don't leave." She pleaded with him, tears now flowing freely down her face. Itachi took her other hand and whispered, "I can't stay, Kiritsu. I have no choice. I have to leave."

"No..." she half-pleaded, half-denied. "Itachi, you always have a choice. I'll help you, I'll make sure whatever happened isn't held against you, I'll-" Itachi cut her off by putting his finger to her lips. He pulled her up into a standing position.

"There's nothing you can do, Kiri." he said.

"Then take me with you!" she whispered desperately. Itachi shook his head,

"It's too dangerous. You have to stay here." He told her firmly.

"No, I-" he cut her off again, this time by kissing her. She felt her back land gently against a tree trunk, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to hold him to her, make him stay. He placed his hands on her face, and pulled away a little. He gazed sadly into her eyes, and whispered, "I love you." Then he disappeared. Kiritsu fell to the ground, sobbing violently. She cried herself to sleep that night, and returned to the village the next morning.


	2. Koori

**_I am updating after only one review because I am super psyched that my first reviewer added me to favorite authors and stories! Thank you so, so, so much xelacy! If you want more though, you guys have to review or do something else to please me, like PMing me. Thanks again to xelacy, you're the only reason I updated so soon! You peoples better thank them too!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters. Only Kiritsu.  
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><p>Prologue Part 2: Koori<p>

Koori had always been a loner, never one to get along well with others. She lived by herself, in a small house near the woods, with her wolf pup, Aiken. Every once in a while, wild animals would come to visit her, and she would play with them for a little while before they left. She only traveled into Konoha if there was a necessity she was lacking that couldn't be found in the forest, preferring silence and relative peace to the hustle and bustle of the village. She had lived in the small house since she had found Konoha about a year and a half ago. She was 8.

Today was one of the dreaded days she would have to travel into the city to find some new clothing and some cheap food. Normally, she would just go without, but now her clothes were getting so small it was painful and food was low in the forest. She hadn't eaten in two days. Groaning as she set out, the girl took all the back ways and alleys she knew, finding a new one here and there. Koori soon reached the marketplace. Bracing herself for the noise and smells that would come with the crowd, Koori walked out into the street, carefully maintaining an average human pace. She quickly made her way to a clothing stall and bought the first decent thing she found. The girl then followed her nose to the food stalls. She put on a "sweet, hungry little girl" look and started wandering around, looking wistfully at the food. After a few minutes several shop keepers had given her a small bit of food from their shops, all of the donations adding up to about two decent meals. It was a good day.

Koori quickly made her way into an alleyway and started back towards the outskirts of Konoha and her home. She smelled human, and looked around confusedly, before deciding that her nose was just filled with the scents from the marketplace. A man followed silently behind her. Not long into her walk home, Koori began to sniff the air. It still smelled freshly of human. Now she was worried. She turned back towards a more populated area.

About five minutes later, she bumped into a girl who looked about the same age as her. They were in an alleyway, too far away to be seen by the people in the street, but still able to hear the bustle of the crowd. The girl she had bumped into was small, a little shorter than Koori. She had pale red hair, contrasting sharply with Koori's dark silver locks, and silver eyes, several shades lighter than Koori's hair, almost white. Koori's electric blue eyes searched the girl in front of her for any kind of threat. The girl scrambled backwards, and mumbled "sorry" with her eyes glued to the ground in front of her.

Koori studied the stranger for a minute, then started, "What's your-" before getting slammed into the wall. The shy girl started, then ran over towards Koori. Koori sat up, rubbing her now throbbing head. She stood, using the wall for support. Now she was mad. Who was the f-ing idiot who thought they could just throw her around like that? Her teeth sharpened and her nails grew longer. Her eyes flickered back and forth from blue to a dark purplish-black so fast you could barely tell the difference. The man who had been following Koori sauntered out from behind his hiding place, grinning widely. "Weak, pathetic little thing you are. _Playing_ with you should be fun." He glanced at the other girl, and his grin, if possible, widened even more.

"Ah, you have a companion. Even better. This might actually take me a few minutes." He walked cockily towards the two girls. "Don't worry little girls, I'm not your enemy if you just listen to me. Do what I say and I won't hurt you." Coming towards Koori, the man didn't even see the red-headed girl fly towards him. She was now furious, her once silver eyes a brilliant red. Koori grinned. Not one of those stuck-up Uchihas, but a freak like herself. This should be interesting. But a few moments later, the man had thrown her into a wall, and her whole body was slack, her eyes back to their original silver. Koori sighed. She had been looking forward to a good fight, but it seems she had over-estimated the girl. Standing up straight, Koori leveled her gaze on the man in front of her. She smiled viciously, and pulled back her lips. Thus, the fight ensued.

About fifteen minutes later, the man who had been tracking Koori was lying on the ground, unconscious and covered in blood. Koori was grinning victoriously. The man had barely been a challenge. She turned towards the girl who still lay on the ground. "As I was saying, what's your name?" Koori asked the girl. She smiled slightly.

"Kiritsu."

"Cool. I'm Koori."

The girl's smile widened a little more. "Nice to meet you." Then she became a little uncomfortable looking. "Um... could you possibly carry me back to either the Uchiha compound or my house? I can't really move at the moment..." She smiled sheepishly up at Koori. Koori stared at her for a minute, then fell on the ground laughing. After a few minutes of rolling on the ground with tears streaming from her eyes from laughter, she stood up and easily lifted the girl onto her back.

"Where's your house?" She asked, still laughing slightly. The girl opened her mouth to speak, then stopped.

"Um... I haven't ever been this far out before. I'm not really sure." Koori looked up at the girl who was now slung over her back, then muttered, "Fine, I'll take you to the stupid Uchiha compound." Kiritsu laughed. "They can be rather silly and arrogant sometimes, can't they?"

Koori huffed something under her breath, then started towards the compound. She dropped off her new friend with some 'Itachi' boy and headed home. Throughout the next couple of years, she and Kiritsu became best friends.

When Koori was twelve, some ninja from another village entered Konoha. She, also a ninja at this point (Kiritsu had nagged her about it until she entered the ninja academy), followed them silently. She was a high chunin level, but hadn't bothered to enter the chunin exams till this year. Studying their headbands, she concluded that they were Iwa nins. Since there was no current threat from Iwa, she jumped down from the roofs and landed next to them.

"Hi there. I'm Koori. What brings you to Konoha?" She asked the ninjas, plastering on a friendly smile.

One of the ninjas, a blonde male, spoke up. "I'm Deidara. We're here on a mission to help with maintaining the village and setting up the chunin exams. We'll also probably be helping out at the academy. We were just heading to the Hokage's offices."

Koori smirked. "I'll accompany you there. Um, by the way, the Hokage's offices are that way." She pointed back the direction they had come from and a little to the right. The blonde ninja flushed in embarrassment. "Oh. Thanks, um, I guess. Lead the way." he mumbled. Koori laughed, then grabbed one of his hands, and one of the team's female ninja's hands, sprinting towards the Hokage tower. The other two nins followed. After about ten minutes and somewhere near 500 stairs, Koori stood respectfully outside the Hokage's office. She knocked on the door.

"I have some ninjas from Iwagakure here with me to see you, Lady Hokage."

A sigh was heard from inside the room.

"Bring them in." the Hokage called from inside the door. Koori opened the door and motioned for the Iwa nins to enter in front of her. She followed right behind them, standing a little off to the side.

"Did they give you any trouble Koori?" Tsunade asked, turning her attention to Koori.

Koori bowed her head slightly, and answered, "No ma'am. They just got lost."

Tsunade stifled a smile. "I see. I was wondering why they needed an escort. What brings you to Konoha?" She turned her attention back to the Iwa nins. This time it was their jonin instructor that spoke up.

"We are here to help in any way we can with maintaining the village and helping to organize the chunin exams. We have some ninja entering this year, so we thought it best that we establish some form of trust before they come. We have orders to help in any way possible until the exams are over."

Tsunade was all business now. "Okay. Thank you very much. The help will be appreciated. Koori, you will act as an escort for these ninja while they are here. Get them anything they need. Take those three with you now. I need to speak with their sensei."

Koori nodded. "Yes, Lady Hokage." She motioned for the three younger ninja to follow her. Once they had exited the Hokage tower, Koori turned to the ninja and asked, "Do you have an apartment to stay in?" Deidara looked at her curiously. "Why are you so polite all of a sudden? It's really weird."

Koori smiled, for real this time. "I was acting before. You'll meet the real me once I get comfortable around you guys." This seemed to annoy Deidara, but all he said was, "Fine."

"Now, do or do you not have a place to stay?" Koori returned to the original question.

"We don't have anywhere to stay." The small brown-haired female spoke up.

"Okay then. Follow me."

The ninja sprinted after Koori as she headed towards the outskirts of Konoha. When she stopped in an old abandoned neighborhood, the Iwa nins tensed thinking she was going to threaten or fight them. They were largely surprised when she pointed at a row of houses and said, "You guys can chose from any of those except the one in the middle. That's where I live. If there are wild animals there or any come in, just let them be or come tell me. They visit me from time to time." She then walked into the house in the middle, waving at them as she closed the door.

"Wow. That was unexpected."

"Understatement of the year."

The Iwa nins ended up staying in Konoha for about two and a half years. Koori and Deidara came to enjoy each other's company and spent more and more time together, until one day, after the two had eaten lunch together, about two years into the Iwa nins' stay, Deidara pulled Koori into an alley and asked her out. She accepted. Now, six months later, they were wandering through another abandoned part of town. Their hands were linked, fingers intertwined. Deidara's mouth hands stayed firmly closed, Koori having taught them to behave around her or else long ago. Deidara grinned, obviously hiding something. "Let's go somewhere else. I know the perfect place." He picked Koori up, much to her displeasure, and flew off towards the woods.

After several minutes of traveling, and Koori telling Deidara off for picking her up, Deidara stopped. He put Koori on her feet and pulled something out of his pocket. Curious, Koori let her guard down and tried to see what it was. Deidara blindfolded her, then slung her over his back, laughing at her very loud and rude protests. A few minutes later he put her down again and took the blindfold off. They were in a beautiful clearing with a crystal clear miniature waterfall. "Wow..." Koori breathed. Deidara waded into the pool, pulling Koori with him.

They sat down on the rocks and Deidara wrapped his arm around Koori's waist, pulling her closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and they watched the fish play in the pool and jump through the mini-waterfall, laughing at the failed attempts at acrobatics.

When the moon reached the top of the sky, Deidara turned to Koori. "I have to go Koori. Tonight is the last night I can see you."

Koori looked sharply at him. "Don't say that. I can come see you in Iwa. You can come see me here. Don't assume that just because your mission is over means you can't see anyone in Konoha again."

Deidara smiled sadly at her. "I'm not going back to Iwa, Koori." Shock registered in Koori's features, before her face smoothed out. "You're lying." Deidara put his hand on Koori's cheek and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry Koori. I wish I was lying. The only reason I got to stay this long is because it would have been suspicious if I just left without saying goodbye."

"Stop it!" Koori yelled at him. "It's not funny! Why would it be less suspicious if you said goodbye? Why would you tell me if you didn't want anyone to know? Stop lying to me!"

Koori tried to get out of Deidara's grasp, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him so their faces were mere inches apart. He forced her to lay down so only her head and lower arms were out of the water. He released her wrists and put his hands on either side of her face before pressing his lips to hers. She closed her eyes, tears streaming silently out of them. When he pulled back up, she had stopped fighting him. They were both laying in the water, his body pressed against hers so he could feel her heartbeat.

"Why?" She asked softly. "Why do you have to go? Why do you have to become a missing nin? Why can't you just stay here, or go back to Iwa?" Her breath brushed his face as she spoke.

"I don't have a choice, Koori." Deidara stroked his fingers across her face as he spoke, wiping away her tears. She opened her eyes, her electric blue meeting with his sky blue. "You can't go." she whispered.

"I love you Koori." He said softly, pressing his lips to hers once more. Then he was gone.

Koori curled up in a ball and lay there for the rest of the night not even getting out of the pool. When morning came, she got up, dried herself off, composed herself, and reported the incident to the Hokage.


	3. Hotaru

_**Hotaru has long brunette hair and hot pink eyes. Thought I should tell you peoples that since I didn't include descriptions. Thanks to Jenna Cee and Angelfang for reviewing and favoriting.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this chapter. :)  
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><p>Prolouge Part 3: Hotaru<p>

There was blood in my mouth. My vision was blurring. I felt pressure on my neck and upper body. Someone holding a kunai to my throat and leaning against me. I was going to die. I heard the man in front of me say, "Die, witch. This is what you get for using your cursed spells in my village." I closed my eyes. Then the pressure was gone. I heard someone's blood hitting the ground. I opened my eyes and saw red. Not blood though. It was too light. I heard a soothing male voice say, "You're going to be alright. I'm taking you to the hospital." My eyes drifted closed again, and I passed out.

-Flashback-

I had been training in the woods outside Konoha with my friends Koori and Kiritsu, whom I had met several years ago when I found them 'sparring' in an alley. They told me they had been training. Kiritsu had been cut up and unable to move, and Koori had a broken arm and several scrapes. I took them both to the hospital and looked after them for a while, though I was only a year older than had become the best of friends. They had left about an hour before, but I had stayed behind to continue training. I had been in the middle of casting a ninjustsu when the man had attacked me. The man was strong for someone who wasn't a ninja, but I normally would have been able to easily defeat him. The problem was the side effect of breaking the ninjustu I had been doing in the middle of activating it. It had drained almost all of my chakra, leaving me virtually unable to fight. Then man had beaten me as I lay on the ground, unable to move. He was insane, I was sure of it. But that knowledge didn't do me any good.

-End Flashback-

I woke up to bright white lights and the sound of machines beeping. I tried to sit up and look around, but a wave of dizziness hit me and I fell back into the bed. I felt a hand on my forehead and opened my eyes. A boy with red hair and brown eyes sat next to me. He looked slightly worriedly down at me.

"Are you alright? I was afraid you had passed out again."

I made a slight nodding motion with my head. He smiled, taking his hand off my forehead. "That's good." I examined the boy a little more closely. He looked a couple of years older than me, maybe an inch or so taller. His clothing bore the symbol of Suna. His eyes were a soft chocolate brown, his hair only slightly lighter colored than blood.

"Are you the one who carried me in here?" I asked weakly. The boy looked mildly surprised.

"Yes, I am. How did you guess?"

I smiled. "I saw red hair before I passed out." I looked around. There was nothing to differenciate this room from any other hospital room, so I asked, "I'm not in Suna, am I?"

The boy chuckled. "No, you're still in Konoha. I traveled here by myself as an escort for a merchant. I believe that since I found you I'll be your caretaker until you're better as well. I didn't really want to go back to Suna anytime soon in the first place, so it's kind of a relief."

I smiled. "Glad to be of assistance. I am Hotaru Anzai. What is your name?"

"Sasori Akasuna." The boy answered.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. The doctors have agreed that you may be let out of the hospital as soon as you can walk with minimal assistance. You will be staying with me in my appartment until you are fully healed, as I am a med ninja of Suna and that is the only reason they are letting you leave. I assumed you didn't want to stay in the hospital for two months if there was an alternative."

I bolted upright, falling back down when I almost fainted, then yelled, "Two months? There's no way I was injured that badly! The guy wasn't even a ninja!"

Sasori raised an eyebrow. "He wasn't a ninja? How in the world did he beat you up in the first place?"

I scowled. "He got lucky. He attacked me when I was in the middle of activating a ninjutsu, and the side effect was that almost all of my chakra was drained. The only reason he was able to hurt me was because I couldn't even move."

Sasori frowned. "That would have been helpful information. I killed him thinking he was an enemy ninja."

"He deserved it." I muttered. "He had every intention of killing me for something I couldn't do anything about."

"What would that be?" Sasori didn't even seem to care that I had no problem with a civilian dieing.

"It's kinda personal." I muttered, averting my eyes. I could practically hear Sasori's dissaproval. I turned to face him, and sure enough, he was frowning at me.

"I'll figure it out eventually." he informed me. "You might as well tell me now."

I smiled just a little too sweetly at him and said, "You'll figure it out when I feel comfortable telling you."

He cursed. I laughed, and he muttered sullenly, "I hate waiting."

I tried to stretch in bed, but that didn't help my stiff muscles much, so I asked, "When can I start moving around? I'm really stiff and quite frankly, I severely dislike hospitals."

Sasori laughed at my statement. "As soon as you can sit and stand without fainting."

I groaned. "But that could take hours!"

Sasori smirked at me. "It seems you dislike waiting too. You can move around when I feel comfortable with your condition."

I glared at him. It easily beat a Hyuuga glare, but it was nowhere near the Uchiha death glare. Only Koori could come close to that.

I spent the remainder of my week chatting and arguing with Sasori and hobbling around the hospital regaining the strengh I had lost due to chakra exhaustion. By the end of the fourth day, I was cleared to go home, but Sasori made me stay for a whole week, at the end of which I could walk perfectly fine by myself and run at a fast civilian pace. Koori and Kiritsu had come to visit me on my first and second days, but they had to leave on a mission after that and were still gone.

Sasori took me to his house, which he had been thoughtful enough to get a second bed for, and I ended up staying there for a little over a month. He told me the speed at which I had healed was remarkable, but it was obvious to me why I had healed so fast. He insisted on checking up on me every couple of days, and eventually we ended up being friends. We had lunch together every day, sometimes joined by a couple of other friends, and we often ended up training together. One day, when we had been out in the woods heading towards a clearing we often used as a training ground, I fell from a tree and he caught me. Instead of putting me down once we hit the ground, he kissed me. Thus, we began dating.

Now, two years later, we were leisurely walking through the forest. Sasori had told the Kazekage in Suna that he was going to stay in Konoha for a while. The Kazekage had not been surprised, as it seemed that Sasori left the village quite often. We climbed to the top of a tree and watched the moon rise, picking out constellations from the starry sky. Sasori pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm leaving tonight." Sasori whispered into my ear.

"You're going back to Suna?" I asked, slightly dissapointed.

Sasori chuckled slightly, a bitter sound. "No, Hotaru. I'm not going back to Suna."

"Where are you going then?" I curiously inquired, looking towards his face that still rested only inches from mine.

"I don't know exactly. But I'll no longer belong to any village." he responded, tightening his hold on my waist.

"You make it sound like you're going to become a missing nin..." Hotaru muttered.

Sasori didn't respond.

I gasped, realising what his silence meant. "You can't!" I half-yelled at him, trying to break his grasp.

Sasori responded by pressing his face into my neck, and muttering, "I am. I have no other choice. Suna has disowned me, and with my reputation there's no way Konoha would take me as a ninja. My only option is to leave." His breath blew into my face as his lips moved against my skin.

"Let go of me. I'm not letting you do this." I said coldly.

"I can see through that mask you put on Hotaru. You know well enough not to try and act like you don't care. There's nothing you can do about the fact that I have to leave. I just wanted to enjoy one more night with you." Sasori took one of his arms off of my waist as he spoke and hooked it under my knees, holding me closely like a small child so he could see my face.

"I'll miss you." he breathed into my ear. Tears started falling down my face without my permission. I tried to hold them in, but it was useless. Sasori bent his face down to mine, kissing the tears away.

"Don't leave." I pleaded, holding on to the arm around my waist with both of mine.

"I'm sorry." he responded, hugging me closer to him.

"I won't let you!" I yelled. "I'll make you stay!" I twisted out of his arms and landed on a tree branch across from where he now sat alone. He stood up and raised his hand. I jumped out of the way as chakra strings attached themselves to the tree I had been standing on. Unfortunately, the branch I landed on broke and I began hurtling towards the forest floor.

When I was about fifty feet off the ground, something warm and hard collided with me. Sasori. He hugged me to him, and used chakra strings to slow our descent so we landed softly on the forest floor. I tried to get out of his grasp, but he just held me tighter, my face pressing into his chest, his arms wrapped securely around my waist, once again. He began rubbing circles on my back, trying to soothe me.

"Stop it." I muttered. He moved his hands to my shoulders, continuing to make circles with his thumbs, and pushed me slightly away from him, so he could see my face. I looked down at the forest floor, my shoulders sagging. Aggravated with my reactions thus far, Sasori grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.

"Why can't you just accept that I have to leave?" he asked almost angrily.

I smiled sadly. "Because I love you. I can't just let you go."

Sasori closed his eyes, moving his hands back to my back, and beginning to rub circles in my skin again. Then, opening his eyes again, he grabbed both of my hands and wrapped them around his neck, pulling me closer to him. He used one of his arms to knock my legs out from under me, laying me on the forest floor. He placed his elbows on the ground by my shoulders and his hands on my face, holding himself over me.

My eyes widened. He smirked at my reaction, then lowered his body onto mine, moving one of his hands to my stomach. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it, and I'm sure he could too. He pressed his lips to mine, softly at first, then with more force, pushing mine open. I was too weak to resist at this point, exhausted both emotionally and physically. His tounge gently carressed my lips, making me shiver. The hand on my face intertwined itself in my hair as the hand on my stomach moved to start making circles up and down my thigh and hip. My eyes slowly closed, my body relaxing as I almost succumbed to sleep. His tounge continued tracing my lips and exploring my mouth.

After a few minutes of this, Sasori pulled his face away from mine, trailing the hand that had been on my thigh lightly up and down my arm, coaxing me into sleep. The last thing I remember before the darkness consumed me is his lips once more pressing against mine as he whispered, "I love you."

I woke up on the forest floor, a tiny wooden carving laid on my chest. I tied the wooden carving on a string and hung it around my neck, then went back to the village, determination to one day find Sasori and return him to Konoha filling my heart.


	4. Kidnapped

_**Yes, I know this is incredibly short, but I had to have it in there, and it was late when I wrote it, so I decided that writing the shortest chapter I'll probably ever write was better than writing the longest. I'm sorry.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto, the Akatsuki, or the Village Hidden in the Valley if it is by chance real. I only own Kiritsu.**_

_**Kiritsu and Koori are 19 at this point, Hotaru 20. Itachi is 22, Deidara is 21, and Sasori is 24 and human.**_

Three girls appeared silently at the entrance to the Hokage tower. They nodded at each other, then walked to the Hokage's office. The silver-haired girl knocked on the door.

"Enter." a voice came from within. All three girls entered together. Tsunade sat before them.

"I am sending you three on a mission as a team. You are to travel to Suna and help them in their battle against the Village Hidden in the Valley. Then, you are to re-establish peaceful relations with them. You are given the option of recruiting an anbu to accompany you. Go."

All three jonin girls simultaneously disappeared. Half an hour later, they were flying through the forest surrounding Konoha. No anbu accompanied them. They had all been given the chance to become anbu, but all three had declined, saying it just wasn't right for them. The three struck up a conversation every so often, but talk amongst them was rare. They needed no battle strategy, as they worked like a single unit, corresponding well to one another.

After a day of traveling, the girls entered a small town. All three had opted out of wearing their jonin jackets, so they blended in well with the crowd, deciding to pretend to be normal, carefree teens getting out for the night. They stayed in a hotel under fake names, lying down to sleep early so they could leave before dawn.

When the moon was high in the sky, the stars bright, a dull crash woke them. They quickly strapped on their weapons holsters and silently exited the room through the window. They nodded to each other once they reached the roof and split up, going three different directions, patrolling the small village they were staying in. After about five minutes of searching, Hotaru's chakra flared, and Koori and Kiritsu darted towards her. Koori, being faster than Kiritsu and having been closer to Hotaru, reached her first.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking around and seeing nothing, though sensing someone's chakra. It was familiar, somehow. A quiet _swish_ was heard, and Sasori and Deidara appeared in front of the two girls.

Stunned, the girls froze in place. Sasori smirked, quickly shooting chakra strings towards Hotaru. Snapping out of her trance, Hotaru jumped out of the way, lightly hitting Koori as she moved to unfreeze her. Koori jumped towards Sasori, a kunai in her hand, Hotaru doing the same to Deidara. They both spun around at the last second as the two figures in front of them burst into smoke, having been shadow clones, and attempted to block the real Akatsuki members' attacks in mid-air, to no avail.

Both girls found themselves thrown into the sides of buildings. They quickly recovered, but found that they could not move. Hotaru looked down at herself and muttered, "Chakra strings" just loud enough for Koori to hear her. Koori cursed. Deidara came up in front of them, quickly rendering them unconcious.

Kiritsu never made it to Hotaru. She had only closed half the distance between herself and Hotaru when two cloaked figures appeared in front of her. Itachi and Kisame. Her eyes had immediately snapped to Itachi's face, and he had trapped her in his Mangekyo Sharingan, catching her and picking her up as her body went limp, her mind trapped in the strong Genjutsu.

Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori had grouped together at the entrace to the village they were in. They left as screams and explosions were heard behind them. Little resistance was met, and ten minutes later the village was burning to the ground, all of the inhabitants having been quickly killed.

Sasori, having come without his puppet, deeming it unneccesary for such a simple mission, carried Hotaru bridal style, Deidara and Itachi doing the same with Koori and Kiritsu. Kisame was complaining about how he didn't get to slice anyone up.

After several hours of traveling, the men reached the Akatsuki base. Kisame opened the door, the other three not having a free hand. The three girls were separated, put in opposite corners of the base, as far as possible from each other. The men who had carried them there stayed with them as their guards.

Itachi spent the next few hours pulling the genjutsu from Kiritsu's mind, and Sasori and Deidara carefully examined and healed any wounds Hotaru and Koori had aquired from their fight. They knew the girls had fought half-heartedly, and the Akatuski members were not surprised they had taken them down so easily. The three spent the rest of the night waiting for the girls they had loved to stir from unconciousness. The most prominent question on all of their minds was: _Does she still love me?_


	5. So Many Questions

_**Special thanks to neonkitteh and StellaMarris for helping me with these, you guys are life-savers. You each get 25% of profits.*Hands out cyber money* :)**_

_**Since it's been five days since my last update, I'm giving you guys two chapters tonight. Thankums for reading!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, only Kiritsu.**_

I woke to find myself lying on a hard cave floor. As my senses sharpened, I realised my head was resting on something soft. The memories of the day before flooded back to me, and my eyes widened in realisation. Itachi. I jumped slightly, flinching away from his hand as he stroked my face lightly, obviously aware that I was now awake.

"What's going on?" I asked as emotionlessly as possible, not moving from my place.

His hand continued its steady motion as he responded, "The Akatsuki has taken an interest in you. Since I was the one to capture you, I am your guard."

I slowly sat up, his hand sliding off my face as I did so. I turned to face the emotionless Uchiha.

"Why now?" I asked, working to keep my voice as smooth and careless as his.

"Because more information about your abilities was collected and now the Akatsuki sees you as a potential asset. Koori and Hotaru as well." he answered my spoken question, as well as the one that was no doubt clearly visible in my eyes.

I stood from my spot on the ground and turned to the other side of the cavern, intending to put some distance between the Uchiha and I, but as soon as my back was to him two hands placed themselves on my face, moving backwards and stroking my hair. I went stiff as a board.

"Why did you cut your hair?" Itachi asked from where he stood less than a foot behind me. I fought the goosebumps threatening to appear on my skin from the discomfort of being in close proximity to another.

"It got in the way." I answered simply, shortly, beginning to move away from him. He stayed this time, giving me a good amount of personal space. I leaned against the wall on the other side of the cave, letting my now shoulder-lenght hair fall in my face. It would be waist length again in only a couple of months. I never had time to get used to it being short, so it still bothered me.

"Is there a reason _you_ were the one to capture me?" I asked, almost bitterly.

"I volunteered, as did Sasori and Deidara, to capture the three of you. Kisame had to come with me, obviously, but he rarely contradicts me." Itachi was saying more than he meant to. It was just slipping out.

I raised my head a little to look at him. "Why?" I asked.

"Why do you want to know?" he shot back evenly.

"No particular reason. Just wondering." I responded.

He was in front of me in a instant. I didn't even see him move.

"You are not in a position to be asking questions." he told me with a smirk in his voice. He placed a hand under my chin and forced my head up so I had to look him directly in the face. "_You _are currently _my_ prisoner, meaning _I_ am in charge. You _will_ answer me truthfully and immediately."

"When were you not?" I muttered, jerking my head free and letting my hair hang in my face once again. He chuckled.

"Stubborn as ever." he said so softly I barely heard it. I moved away from him. My brain was a mixed up, confused mess. Did he still love me? Did _I_ still love _him_? I wasn't sure of anything. I closed my eyes, trying to sort it all out. I sat against the cavern wall, feeling rather than seeing Itachi sit down next to me. His scent wafted over to me. _'Curse it all.' _I thought. _'Why do I have to be a half-vampire? Why can't my senses just act like a normal human's? Agh!'_

I put my head in my hands. After a few minutes of debating with myself, I felt pressure on my wrists, coming back to the real world, I saw Itachi's hand pulling my wrist away from my head. I raised my head, stiffening slightly at the contact.

"What?" I asked shortly.

Itachi sighed. "As hard as it my be to believe, I'm not your enemy. I wish you wouldn't act like you expect to be killed at any given moment."

I pulled my wrist away. "I'm sorry." I told him with thick sarcasm. "You're right, I'm perfectly safe here. I mean, I have absolutely nothing to fear. Why should I be tense? I'm simply sitting in a room with an S-rank criminal. Absolutely no reason to be anything but completely relaxed."

As soon as I realized what I had said, I groaned and banged my head against the wall, trying to block out the guilt. Why was I guilty? He was a traitor, a criminal! Making a snide remark should not make me feel guilty! So why was I?

I was snapped out of my thoughts again several minutes later when Itachi's arm wrapped around me, pulling me close to him so I was leaning on his shoulder. I froze.

"Let go." I hissed through clenched teeth.

"I'm in charge, remember?" he murmured in my ear. I jerked away, but in the position I was in I only moved about an inch farther away from him. My stomach started doing flip-flops. I made my whole body go limp, pretending to faint.

Itachi took that opportunity to move me into his lap, muttering, "I'm not stupid."

His warm breath engulfed my face. He turned me sideways, and I hissed in surprise when he laid his ear against my heart, which was beating a mile a minute, so hard I could feel it in my ears.

"Are you nervous? Scared? Or is anticipation what made your heart speed up so drastically?" Itachi asked me, raising his head and facing me again, so I would have no choice but to look straight at him. When I didn't answer, he frowned, then smirked.

"I guess I'll just have to get my answers the hard way..."

With that sentence, I was pulled into the black and red world of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi appeared in front of me.

"Either you will answer my questions, or I will make you relive the most painful memories you've ever experienced." he told me in a monotone. I took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly.

"What do you want to know?" I asked quietly, lowering my head in defeat.

"Why do you fear me?" he questioned, coming closer to me.

"I don't." I responded automatically.

"Do not lie to me. If not fear, then what makes your heart beat so quickly whenever I am near you?" he continued, stopping right in front of me.

"I don't know..." I muttered, almost to myself. Itachi placed his hand on the side of my face. I instinctively jerked backwards, putting a good foot of distance between us.

"Why do you run away from me?" he asked, coming closer as I backed away to prove his point.

"Instincts? Personal space? Your guess is as good as mine. I don't really know." I answered. A small square appeared around the area Itachi and I were standing in. I, already backed into the side of the square, couldn't move away as Itachi put his hands on either side of my head.

"Do you still love me?" he asked softly, looking down at me with an almost vulnerable expression on his face.

I turned my face away. "I don't know." I whispered. He grabbed my hair, jerking my head back to face him and angrily asked,

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know how you feel? How can you so easily lie to my face?"

I crossed my arms and pulled back as far as possible, averting my eyes.

"I just don't know. I'm telling you the truth. I'm not really sure about anything right now. I could ask you the same question, though I think I know the answer." His grip on my hair loosened, and he pulled me forward into a hug.

"You are mine." he whispered. "I never stopped loving you."

The world around us faded, and I found myself seated on the floor of the cave again. I also found myself exhausted from being in the genjutsu. Itachi's arms wrapped around me, and he laid down, pulling me down next to him.

"Sleep." he whispered. When I drifted into the realm of darkness, one thing had become clear to me: I was still in love with Itachi Uchiha.


	6. Arguments

**I am so sorry it took me so long to update, but I had writer's block and major homework overload. Here it is. I hope it's better than the last chapter.**

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><p>I woke to find pressure on my forehead. I reached up to swat it away, but my hand hit only air. I ran my fingers over my face to find a bandage wrapped tightly around my head. When I started to peel it away, a strong hand stopped mine.<p>

"What do you think you're doing?" a familiar voice asked. I slapped the hand away.

"Taking the bandages off. They're annoying."

I heard a sigh behind me, and Deidara moved into my line of vision.

"They're there for a reason. Leave them on."

"No." I responded stubbornly, quickly and easily unwinding them from my head. I immediately felt dizzy and my eyes unfocused a little, but not to the point where it bothered me. "See, I'm fine."

Deidara watched me suspiciously. "Then stand up and walk the perimeter of the cave."

I snorted. "Why do you care so much? I didn't think my well-being would matter that much to you."

He looked slightly injured. "Just do it already. I'm not a patient person."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I stood up and took a step, then collapsed on the floor, my whole body going numb.

"WHY CAN'T I FREAKING MOVE?"

Deidara pulled out more bandages and wrapped them tightly around my head again with a sigh.

"Exactly. Leave the bandages on. I think you have a concussion. You fell hard after I knocked you out."

"Stupid fragile skull..." I muttered underneath my breath. I felt arms wrap around me and my arm automatically flew backwards in defense.

"OW!" Deidara yelled, cursing.

"Oops... um... knee-jerk reaction... sorry..." I scooted cautiously away from him. He chuckled at me.

"You didn't think I'd leave you alone that easily, did you?"

"Um... yes? I was hoping you'd wait for a bit before interogating me." I told him dully.

"Intero- why would I interogate you? We kidnapped you, it's not like we captured you invading the base or something." He sounded confused.

"Why would you even have wanted us in the first place?" I questioned him in a belittling voice. He growled at me.

"You _are_ the prisoner here. You aren't in a position to be asking questions."

"Translation: You're too embarrased to answer me or you don't know. Presumably the first."

"Why do you have to be so freaking annoying?" Deidara asked me angrily.

"It's a gift." I responded smugly. He sighed, then smirked. _'Crap... the smirk of doom...'_

"I'm surprised you aren't freaking out. I know we're not exactly strangers, but I'm still your enemy."

"I have extreme control of my emotions and actions. Get over it." I smirked right back at him. He frowned at me. "I know." Once again, more cautiously this time, he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I snarled at him. "Let. Go. Of. Me. Now."

He chuckled, tightening his hold. "No. You'll have to get free yourself."

I growled again but made no attempt at moving. I knew it would be useless. He had always been physically stronger than me. At least the hand mouths were still good around me. He pressed his fingers to the back of my head. Pain shot through my skull, but I kept my face blank.

"How does your head feel?"

"Fine." I said curtly.

"Don't lie to me Koori." he threatened. I snorted.

"Like you'd be able to tell if I was."

"Would you like me to force it out of you?" he breathed in my ear.

"Good luck with that." I said indifferently.

He sighed again, this time in frustration. "I wish you weren't quite so stubborn..." he muttered.

"Sucks for you."

"You know, you're a real idiot for acting like this when you're being held hostage." he told me.

"You're point? I don't really care what you think of me, as long as you're aware you won't be getting any information."

He glared at me. I smirked. For some reason, I was in a really good mood today. Maybe it's cause I actually got some sleep. My musings were interupted when Deidara's face appeared inches from mine, looking severely pissed.

"Are you even listening?" he hissed.

"No." I stated bluntly, earning an even more pissed off look. I smiled inwardly. I loved annoying people.

Deidara pulled away from me, trying to compose himself. "You just love aggravating me..." he muttered.

"And? Aggravating people is fun. Get over it."

Deidara grimaced. He began muttering to himself, something an average human wouldn't be able to hear, but I could. My animal senses served me well. I love being a werewolf. I chuckled at his mutterings. He glanced up at me for a second, then his eyes widened.

"Shoot! I forgot you could hear me!" he cursed quietly, probably to himself.

After a while of looking around the cave and listening to Deidara mutter to himself, I got bored and closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep. After a few seconds, I felt Deidara's arm wrap around my waist.

"Let go of me now or your arm will come off." I told him bluntly. His arm constricted slightly, pulling me closer to him.

"No."

I growled and elbowed him hard in the side, but he just absorbed it with a smile.

"You've done that way too many times for it to hurt."

I made my face and eyes go blank, relaxing my entire body, completely blocking out his prescence. Until my nose decided to betray me. I smelled fire. My eyes refocused to see that he had indeed blown up a clay sculpture with the intention of pulling me out of my meditation.

"I freaking hate you." I told him, glaring at the scorch mark on the floor.

"Love you too." he responded with heavy sarcasm and a hint of... sincerity? What the heck was going on here? I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, but dismissed it. He sat down beside me again, resuming his former position. I started to shut down again, but he pinched my arm.

"If you tune out on me again you'll wake up with your clothes on fire." he threatened. I snarled at him, but didn't try to shut down again. His hand mouth stayed firmly closed. Good. After a few minutes of simply sitting there, he turned to face me, asking, "Do you still like me?"

I was so surprised, I lost my composure for a minute. A blush spread across my face and my eyes widened. I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. He smiled hugely, quickly moving to press his lips against mine. I didn't even move. I was in total shock.

"I'm taking that as a yes." he told me smugly. When my senses returned to me, I quickly shoved him away, composing my face again. He came to sit down beside me again, pulling me into a hug-like position. The last thought that crossed my mind as I pulled back into the depths of my consciousness was: _'Holy freaking crap, he kissed me.'_


	7. Puppet Strings

_**I actually approve of this chapter, and since I'm the ultimate critc you should too. Credit to neonkitteh for the threats and some ideas. XD She helped me on this one. **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Kiritsu.**_

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><p>I woke to find myself wrapped in a cloak smelling of wood polish. Sasori's cloak, to be exact. He needs to wash this thing when he gets stuff on it...<p>

"Welcome back. How was dreamland?" a bluntly rude voice asked me.

"Fine, thank you. How was puppet world? I think you spilled some polish." I responded sarcastically, using a sickly sweet voice.

A sigh was heard, then Sasori came out of hiding to stand before me. He examined me closely, then questioned, "Are you not going to get up?"

I shrugged from my place on the floor. "I don't really feel like it." He started to come closer, but I growled, "Take one more step and I'll chop your hands and feet off."

Sasori chuckled. "Interesting threat. But I wonder how do you plan to do that..." he raised his hand, attaching chakra strings to my arms and legs. "...when you can't control your body? I believe I have the upper hand here."

I growled. "I'll freaking put a stick through your head whether or not I have control of my body."

He snorted. "Sure you will brat. I'll believe it when I see it."

I leaned against the strings, then threw my weight against the wall, just to give him grief. He scowled at me, before using the strings to make me stand up and walk over to him. I glared at him, something that would send a chill down some people's spines. He just smirked. When my body stopped moving, he raised on of his hands and placed it under my chin. I tried to bite his fingers, but they moved too quickly. Grrrrr...

"Weren't you going to put a stick through my head?" he asked sarcastically. "I was looking forward to it."

"Shut up." I told him dully. He released the chakra strings, and I crumpled to the ground, too lazy to remain standing. Sasori knelt beside me and started to pick me up, but I kicked his foot. He growled at me.

"Could you cooperate just once?" he asked irritably.

"No. It's too much effort."

Sasori ran a hand through his hair, muttering something to himself. I sent a little magic to my ears to strengthen them, but he stopped by the time I had sharpened my hearing enough to understand him. We both stayed silent for a bit.

Sasori turned to me after a time and asked, "Do you feel alright? Any pain or numbness?"

I snorted. "Like I'd tell you. That question inspires this one: What did you give me that should cause me that?"

Sasori glared at me. "I didn't give you anything other than a weak painkiller for the concussion you have. Since when are you such a pessimist?"

I smiled sweetly at him. "Why, since you showed up dearest." That earned me another growl. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, nearly jumping out of my skin when hazel brown orbs and red hair filled my sight upon opening them again.

"Don't freaking screw with me Hotaru." Sasori said menacingly.

I snarled at him. "If you put your face any closer to mine I'll head-butt that hollow head of yours off."

He smirked. "Is that so?" Sasori placed his mouth right next to my ear, his hair brushing against my face. "My head is still on Hotaru." he teased, lowering his voice so it didn't kill my ear. I shoved him away, slapping the side of his head as he let himself fall backwards.

"I'm aware, _Danna_. That doesn't mean it will stay that way." I told him icily.

"Don't be so cold. You make it sound like we're enemies or something." he told me craftily. Nice try.

"We are enemies. You are an Akatsuki member and I am a ninja of Konoha. Get over it."

Sasori smiled slyly at me. "Is that the only reason we're enemies?"

"You and your organization have killed many of my comrades and close friends. That is why we are enemies." I responded bluntly.

Sasori sat down in front of where I was now leaning against a wall. "Are you sure that's it?" he breathed in my face.

My eyes unfocused slightly and I stuttered, uncomfortable with the proximity. "Y-yes. I-I'm sure."

He moved away from me, a smug look on his face. "You're lying, Hotaru. Tell me the truth."

I rolled my eyes. "Quite frankly, I don't trust you. I'm not telling you anything."

Sasori gave me an annoyed look, but didn't push the matter, just muttering, "Whatever."

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall again, trying to meditate, go to sleep, _something._ I had made it into a deep meditation when a voice and pressure on my shoulders reached me, and I slowly came out of it to see Sasori sitting in front of me with his hands on my shoulders, shaking me and half-yelling at me to wake up.

"What?" I asked irritably.

"Are you okay? I thought you'd gone into a coma." he asked, searching my face and eyes for any indication that I was hurt. Did I sense worry here? Hmm...

"Are you worried Sasori?" I asked incredulously, but with an undertone of 'I know something you don't know' to it.

"No." he replied bluntly, stopping his searching, seeing there was nothing wrong.

"Are you sure?" I teased, putting on a suspicious look.

Sasori growled at me, then got up and started pacing the room. I followed him with my eyes as his pacing became more and more restless. Finally, he walked back over to me, pulling something out of a pocket. He sat down in front of me and held the thing out to me.

"Eat it." he told me. I stared at him incredulously. After about ten seconds, he got impatient and forced my mouth open, pushing the thing in. Then, he held my mouth closed and pinched my nose so I had no choice but to swallow. I sat gasping in air when he released me.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?" I yelled.

"Something to help you sleep." he responded dully.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO... force... feed... it..." my vision blurred and the room started fading to black.

-Time Skip-

I woke in the same position I had fallen asleep in. I could find no difference in my situation until I realized I couldn't move.

"Sasori." I growled. "What did you freaking do to me?"

"I paralyzed you. Now you can't shove me off when I interrogate you." he responded, coming around in front of me from the side. I snarled. He smirked, coming to sit in front of me.

"What does Konoha know about the Akatsuki?"

"Virtually nothing." I kept my answers cryptic so he wouldn't get anything from them.

"Why were you three in the village we captured you in together?" He studied my face carefully, looking for any hidden answers. He wouldn't find any of course. Koori had trained me well.

"We were on a mission."

"Why are you being so hostile?"

"Oh, I don't know." I said with heavy sarcasm. "Maybe it's because you kidnapped us, or killed our comrades, or attacked our village, but that doesn't matter all that much, does it? I'm not really sure. I mean, of course I should be nicer to S-rank criminals. What am I thinking?"

"Is that the only reason you don't trust me and won't tell me anything?" he questioned.

"Sure it is. Because the fact that you just got up and left one day totally proves you're trustworthy. I mean, it was just so nice of you to leave me there in the middle of the forest with my last memory of you being a fight. That gives you so much credit. How could I ever not trust you?" My response was laced with sarcasm. Sasori smiled and placed his hand on my cheek.

"I knew it." he said softly. "You're still upset that I left you all those years ago. You missed me. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"You really think I can trust you with something like that after what you did? You freaking left me in the forest and disappeared without even leaving a note!" My emotional mask was broken. Koori was still a million times better at it than me. All my anger and frustration began gushing out. "How could you do something like that? There were a million other things you could have done, but you chose to leave! How could I ever trust you again after something like that?"

Sasori placed his hands on either side of my face and waited patiently for me to calm down. After a couple of minutes, everything had been drained out of me, and I sat limply against the wall. Sasori pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. "I never told you the full situation. There was no way for me to stay in Konoha without putting you in danger. If there was I would have found it. I'm sorry."

We sat there listening to each other's heartbeats for a while, then Sasori loosened his hold on me and moved away a little.

"I can't fix what happened in the past Hotaru. But I still love you. I always have and always will." He pulled my face closer to his, pressing his lips into mine. After a moment, he moved one of his hands to my lower back, pressing me against him.

All too quickly we separated, and he stroked my cheek with his thumb, looking deep into my eyes, before lying down on the cave floor, pulling me with him. He laid his cloak over both of us and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"Get some rest." he told me. "Everything is about to get a lot more complicated."


	8. Confessions

**Okay guys, I am _so _sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but I haven't gotten many ideas. It might help if you reviewed more since I have no inspirtation to keep going without reviews on the story... Oh and by the way, I have another story up too and I'm about to post chapter two, so it would be really cool if I could at least have the satisfaction of someone looking at it... reviews would be even better... because I seriously got a pity review from my friend. -_- Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Kiritsu. Man this is getting old.**

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><p>Kiritsu's POV<p>

I woke to find myself still wrapped in a certain Uchiha's arms. I shifted slightly to look at his face, happy to see that peace was evident in his features. I lay my head down and ran over the previous day's events. _'… I'm such an idiot! I feel so stupid... ' _

Itachi stirred next to me. I held still so as not to wake him, but even so his eyes opened after a few moments. I pulled out of his grasp and sat up, watching him do the same thing I had done just moments ago. After a couple of minutes, he spoke.

"How long have you been awake?"

I smiled subconsciously. "Just a few minutes longer than you have. Concerned, are we?" The next moment I felt his breath in my ear. Again. Sigh.

"Am I not allowed to ask how my prisoner is faring?"

I shoved his face away. "Nope. That would be caring. You aren't supposed to care for a prisoner."

Itachi gave a small smirk. "You're not a prisoner. You're a captive."

"Same thing." My response was accompanied by a roll of my eyes.

"Not in your case."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly is my case? I seem to remember being kidnapped, which would make me a prisoner."

Itachi's arm encircled my waist as he spoke. "You are _my_ captive, and therefore not a prisoner. There are no sides for any prisoners to be returned to."

I attempted to ignore him, but the fact that he was the only person in the room and he was sitting less than a foot away from me made it hard. So I responded.

"I feel so loved. I'm an object. How nice."

He removed his arm from my waist. I grinned. I had successfully ruined the mood.

"Why did you choose now to tell your leader about us anyways? You could have done it anytime before now, or never told him at all."

Itachi looked slightly pained. "I cannot tell you that. It was for your own good."

I looked suspiciously at him. "Why not?"

He gave me a calculating look. Seeing how much he could get away with. "It's nothing Kiritsu. Don't worry about it."

"I will worry about it because if you brought it up it is _not _nothing. Tell me."

Itachi appeared in front of me, placing his hand under my chin. "Don't be so stubborn."

My thoughts fuzzed out for a moment before re-sharpening. "Don't change the subject."

His thumb stroked my face as his other hand landed on the small of my back. "Are you sure you want to talk about this right now?"

I struggled to keep my thought process clear. "Y-Yes. I'm s-sure."

He bent his face down to mine so his lips brushed my ear. "Positive?"

I shook my head and pushed him away. "Yes. I'm positive. What did you mean by 'it was for your own good'?"

Itachi sighed in resignation. "The Akatsuki is going to launch an attack on Konoha in a couple of days. We had to get you out before then."

"_We?"_ I asked with venom. "Are you part of the attack on Konoha then? You're going to betray you're village again?"

"No." he snapped sharply. "I never betrayed Konoha. Everything I did I did to help protect it. Do not accuse me of such a thing."

I flinched at his tone. "I'm sorry... I should have listened to the whole story before I judged."

Itachi took a deep breath to calm down. "I apologize for being so rude." he told me in a controlled tone. I studied his face for a minute, then wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Don't try and hide things from me Itachi. It only ends up hurting you."

After a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around me as well. We hugged for several minutes before letting go. I studied Itachi for a few moments before asking a question.

"How loyal are you to the Akatsuki?"

Itachi glanced at me, took it as a random query, and responded, "I only stay because I have nowhere else to go. I am a missing nin. There is no other place that would take me."

I deliberated for a minute, then said, "What if I said I could convince the Hokage to let you live in Konoha? Would you leave?"

Itachi looked up at me sharply. "That would never happen, so you don't have to worry about it."

I sat down next to him, assuming the same position he had. "If it were to happen, what would you say?"

Itachi sighed. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Nope."

"I would come with you. Konoha is my home and the only ties I have to this place are my partner and you. But would you leave? Koori and Hotaru are still here, and I can guarantee you they would not leave without Sasori and Deidara. Those two would be harder to convince, as Konoha is not where they grew up."

I looked down. "I know. But we'd figure it out. Thank you." I leaned my head against his shoulder and focused all my energy on sending Hotaru and Koori and mental message.

_'Making a plan to get back to Konoha. Try and convince Sasori and Deidara to come too. If one person stays then we all stay. It's all or nothing. Please try.'_

I closed my eyes and began running scenarios on how to escape with all six of us. We kept dying. This was going to be a challenge.


	9. Tricks

**_Yes, I know its been like a billion years since I updated, but I happen to be kind of busy. I'm sorry. I have part of chapter ten already written for those of you that care, and I'm trying to catch up a bit on weekends. Thanks for sticking with me. :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Kiritsu and the plot._**

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><p>My meditation began wearing off and I came to consciousness with the realization that Deidara was not in the room. I wasn't quite sure if that was good or bad.<p>

Looking around, I also noticed that the scorch mark on the floor was gone... and so was the dent...

My eyes widened and I leapt to my feet. Someone had moved me. This was a different room. Making a closer inspection of the room, I saw chakra and movement sensors – the illegal kind – and a line in the side of the cave resembling a door. I walked over to it, setting off the movement sensors, and tried to break it with a fist full of chakra... which I assume set off the chakra sensors. The door crumbled slightly, but didn't break. I frowned. I could punch almost as hard as Lady Tsunade... there was something wrong here.

I began searching for other chakra signatures and failed to find any within a five mile radius. There was only one thing that could mean. Someone had cut off access to my chakra. This was _not_ good.

"What's going on?" I asked the air – yes, the air – coldly.

"So you've finally figured things out, huh? It seemed like Deidara was having quite a bit of trouble getting information out of you, so its my turn."

A man with a ton of piercings and orange hair walked into the room. I had an immediate dislike of him, as he somehow resembled Naruto. Other than, you know, being one of the people who kidnapped me...

"Good luck," I told him with contempt. "You're gonna need it."

"I don't think so."

A smirk crossed his face and the world around me turned black. I stood absolutely still, listening for movement. A sudden realization hit me: this was a genjutsu, and my chakra was blocked off. A smirk made its way onto my face as I completely stopped what little chakra flow I still had and the black faded.

I glanced over at the only other occupant of the room and said, "Nice try Orangey." The smirk never left my face. That is, until Orangey started fading into Blondey, AKA Deidara.

"What the -"

"Wake up already!"

I growled and rolled quickly out of my position on... the floor? Looking around in confusion, I found myself in the same room I had began meditating in.

"... was I ever moved out of this room?" I asked Deidara somewhat calmly.

"...no..."

I frowned. "You're lying."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, but you're doing it. What are you hiding?"

Deidara gave me a calculating look, then turned his head away from me. "Nothing."

I growled angrily at him, but my anger was suddenly distracted.

_'Making a plan to get back to Konoha. Try and convince Sasori and Deidara to come too. If one person stays then we all stay. It's all or nothing. Please try.'_

Hmm... so I have a little mission now. Now, how do I pull it off? I gave a fake sigh of resignation before going to sit by Deidara.

"Whatever. I don't care anymore."

Deidara gave me a surprised look, but relaxed his defensive posture. "That's something I never thought I'd hear."

I shrugged. After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Hey Deidara, what's your favorite thing about Konoha?"

"The people and your crazy Hokage," he chuckled. "That woman is insane. I swear she almost threw me through the wall of the Hokage tower once."

I laughed. "I don't doubt it. Did you like it better in Konoha than you like it here?"

Deidara laughed kind of bitterly. "Yeah, I did. Did I ever tell you why I came here?"

"No, you didn't," I muttered.

"Well, it wasn't by choice. I'm sure I told you that much. You see, Pein, our leader, wanted me to join the Akatsuki. I denied his request, obviously enough, so he sent Itachi, who had to do this as a sort of initiation, to fight me. The deal was, if I won, I got to stay free. If Itachi won, I had to join the Akatsuki. As you can see, Itachi won. I seriously doubt they would have let me go free if I had won though."

Deidara's story was marked by a frown creasing his face and a bitterness in his voice. My emotions were mixed at this point. On the one hand, I was happy because a) it would be easier to get Deidara to come back to Konoha and b) he never wanted to leave me. On the other hand, I felt mean for being happy about his sad story when I should be trying to sympathize.

Not knowing how to respond, I decided to skip that part all together. "So... does that mean that if we could get free and back to Konoha, you'd come with me?"

Deidara glanced down at me out of the corner of his eye. "As if that would ever happen."

"If it did?"

Deidara sighed, already being used to my stubbornness. "Yeah, I would. Why?"

I smiled largely. "You'll see. Just be ready for some group planning."

Deidara gave me a somewhat curious look before nodding his head slightly and looking up at the ceiling. He gave a sigh of, "Here we go again... let's just hope it works this time."


	10. Healing Sasori

_**Yay! I finally updated! And its a super long chapter! And completely different from the format of the other two! I kinda got carried away with this one, cause I kinda love writing this couple. Also, thanks to everyone I've forgotten to mention on here for reviewing. I'm pretty sure I've responded to most of you through PM's... but thanks again! Thirdly, I have a poll posted on my profile page, so if you guys answer it, you may get more updates on certain stories. And lastly, I was thinking about taking this story down. What do you think? And this isn't a rhetorical question. I **_**do _want an answer, or I may take it down without asking you again. _**

**_Sincerely,  
>~VeganVampy<em>**

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><p>When I woke up, I was alone in my little prison cave, Sasori's cloak still draped over me. I sat up and looked around, seeing nothing and no one. I stretched my sore limbs and gently probed the back of my head where I supposedly had a concussion, wincing in pain. The tips of my fingers turned a light purple, a mixture of magic and healing chakra, and I pressed down lightly on the back of my head. Soon, the pain receded and I began running over the events that had occurred.<p>

_'Things are about to get a lot more complicated.' What could that mean? What's going to happen?_

In the middle of my contemplating, I felt two smooth hands slide down my arms.

"What's on your mind Hotaru?" Sasori whispered in my ear. I scootched away, slapping both of his hands soundly.

"None of your concern. Personal space mister."

He chuckled quietly. "You didn't seem to mind so much before."

"That's because I was paralyzed."

"Are you sure it would have been different if I hadn't paralyzed you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yep."

"Positive?"

"Mhmm." I rolled my eyes at his insistence.

"I don't believe you..." he murmured, wrapping his arms tightly around my torso.

"Well, that's your issue," I told him, trying to pry his arms loose. No luck. Stupid guys having more upper arm strength.

"Do you consider it an issue?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I paused for a second, unsure of how to respond. Why did I consider it an issue that he didn't believe me? … because that meant he didn't trust me. There's no way I was saying that out loud though.

"None of your business."

Sasori's hand rose from its position beside me to brush some of my hair away from my face, and I flinched backwards... except backwards was the rest of Sasori.

"What's wrong?"

"Your hand is too close to my face," I growled, reaching up to push the offending object away. Both of Sasori's arms finally released me, and I assumed I was free for a moment... but then I remembered I was in a cave in a ninja who is much stronger and faster than me's base with no idea how to get out. UGH.

A voice interrupted my thoughts of feeling sorry for myself and I grumpily listened to what it was saying.

_'Making a plan to get back to Konoha. Try and convince Sasori and Deidara to come too. If one person stays then we all stay. It's all or nothing. Please try.'_

I smiled slightly. A challenge. Wonderful.

"Hey, Sasori?" I asked, putting a slightly curious tone into my voice.

"What?" he asked bluntly, a 'what are you up to now?' tone in his voice. Oopsie.

"Did you like it in Konoha?" My question's intention was to turn him away from suspicion, and it worked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just wondering. Do you like it any more here?"

Sasori chuckled bitterly. "No, I don't. I came here because I couldn't stand to live in a town where everyone continually tried to make me believe my parents were still alive, and there was no way I'd be allowed to stay in Konoha."

"Why?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Sasori glanced at me and smirked slightly. "Why so curious Hotaru? I thought you didn't trust me."

I raised my eyebrow. "What does trust have to do with asking you questions?"

"You're leaning towards me in curiosity, meaning you're not nervous and therefore trust me not to hurt you."

"Oh really? Is that what it means?"

"I think so," he muttered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders again.

"You think so?" I quoted, an incredulous tone in my voice. "Is the great Sasori questioning his own beliefs?"

"The great Sasori?" he quoted back at me, sounding amused. "Where did that come from?"

"Its my version of making fun of you, blockhead," I responded, standing up and facing him with a cheeky smile. Watching his face, I could tell that Sasori was torn between laughing and being annoyed. I laughed to myself, having fun messing with him.

"What's so funny?" Sasori asked, his eyes flicking up to me.

"Nothing~," I grinned. Then, I returned to seriousness and sat down in front of him. "Why would you not be allowed to remain in Konoha?"

Sasori sighed, leveling his gaze with mine.

" I had and still have a very bad reputation as a ninja, Hotaru. If it weren't for my grandmother, I probably wouldn't even have been allowed to stay in Suna. Konoha wouldn't have wanted a ninja from another village to obtain information on them, especially a ninja like me who has a reputation for running off with little known reason and being away for long periods of time, often in different villages."

"Then you could have been a mercenary based in Konoha! Come on Sasori, I know you're smart enough to search out all the options. You said so yourself."

"Konoha knows my skill level and techniques. They know that if I wanted to, I could obtain every bit of information on the village and everyone in it in a single week and disappear without a trace. I was pushing my luck already, staying as long as I did."

I sat back and contemplated for a moment. How could I convince him to come back? I mean, I couldn't leave without him, now that I knew the whole story, and its not like he'd let me go anyways... so how could I get him to take the huge risk of betraying the Akatsuki to come back to Konoha with me? … I mean, us? I sighed and decided to get as much useful information as possible before popping the question.

"Hey Sasori?"

"Hm?"

"Have you developed any ties to this place?"

"Not really. I enjoy the solitude and the fact that no one here feels sorry for me or tries to sugarcoat things, but the only real thing I'd have trouble leaving is the brat, and I'm sure he'd be happy to go, as much as he complains."

I laughed. "Deidara complains? What about?"

Sasori smirked. "Everything and everyone. He says my art is terrible, tries to blow Hidan and Itachi up on a daily basis, whines about how Pein always gives us boring missions, grumbles about how the food here is terrible and he wishes we could get someone to cater from Konoha or Iwa, and says the Akatsuki's goal is stupid and pointless."

I raised my eyebrow at Sasori. "What exactly is the Akatsuki's goal?"

"Pein never really completely explained it to us. He talks about how he will become the god of this world, and everyone will bow to the Akatsuki, but other than that, he keeps his goals to himself."

"Why would you work for someone who won't even tell you their goal?" I asked, thinking the concept was stupid.

"Because some of the people here don't care – like Hidan, who just wants to kill people, and Kakuzu, who just wants money – and Pein could easily kill any of us, and probably all of us together with Konan at his side. There are also some unknown factors, which would make going against Pein's will even more dangerous," Sasori explained. I frowned. If he's that strong, what would stop him from attacking Konoha once we left? I relayed the information I had collected to Koori and Kiritsu through our mental link. This could be tougher than we thought...

"Hotaru?"

"Yes?"

"What are you planning?"

I stared blankly at him. "What are you talking about?"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb. You always ask questions when you're planning something. What are you planning?"

"Nothing," I lied. "What else am I supposed to do while stuck in a cave with no other form of entertainment?"

"I could think of a few things..." Sasori said with a knowing smirk. I slapped his head and he laughed and grabbed my hand. "Oh come on Hotaru, loosen up. I was just kidding."

"You better be..." I grumbled, pulling my hand back. A thought suddenly occurred to me. "What did you mean by, 'Things are about to get a lot more complicated'?"

Sasori frowned. "Nothing, Hotaru."

I frowned as well. "There's no such thing as nothing, _Sasori_."

"What is nothing then?" he asked, obviously trying to distract me.

"_Tell me what you meant_," I demanded.

Sasori looked uncomfortable. "This is really a bad time to talk about it Hotaru. I'll tell you later."

"_**No.**_Tell me _now_."

"Hotaru-"

"Don't make me use my magic."

Sasori sighed in resignation. "The Akatsuki... is launching an attack on Konoha in a few days..."

"_**What**_?"

"That's why we told Pein about you... so we could get you out before then."

I glared in silence.

"This wasn't my decision Hotaru. Pein saw Konoha as a threat and decided to launch an attack."

I continued glaring.

"That's not going to get you anywhere," he prodded, trying to get me to say something. When no response came, he reached over and tried to pull me into his arms. I shoved him backwards, my anger causing me to accidentally infuse the push with magic, sending him flying across the cave. He hit the nearby wall hard and crumpled to the ground, gasping at the pain of the impact.

That snapped me out of my angry silence.

"Oh crap! Sasori!" I murmured as I bolted over and rolled him onto his back. He was gritting his teeth with his eyes closed.

"!" I muttered as I placed my hands on his chest, extracting the magic that lined the internal wound, refusing to let it heal. As soon as all the magic was out, I started healing his internal wounds. After a few moments, his jaw loosened and his eyes opened and came to rest on me as I finished healing him.

"Have you ingested any poisons or injected yourself with anything in the past two months?" I asked him, not looking away from the area I was healing.

"Yes," he responded. I closed my eyes and began thoroughly examining his bloodstream, chakra system, and internal organs for any activated poisons.

"I need water, sage, chamomile, and sweet clover," I told him. He nodded and stood up. I examined his movements to make sure he would be okay to go far enough to get the medicine.

"Be careful."

Sasori smiled. "Calm down Hotaru. I'll be fine."

I frowned at him as he made a clone to leave in the cave with me and walked outside.

-3rd Person-

Sasori began making his way through the Akatsuki base.

_'Where are you going?' _Pein's voice asked.

_'To get some medicinal herbs. I'll be back shortly.'_

_'And the girl you're supposed to be watching?'_

_'I left a clone with her. Don't worry, she won't leave.' _

Pein's slightly annoyed voice disappeared as the connection dissolved. The red-head began running through the forest towards the nearest town. Upon reaching the village, he disguised himself and created another clone to distract the ninja that had been following him for about half his trip. He bought the herbs and, avoiding the battle going on between his clone and the other ninja, returned to the base, leaving the other ninja astonished as his clone dispersed in smoke.

-Hotaru's POV-

The clone Sasori had left with me told me exactly what he was doing the entire time he was gone, and I listened intently. During the times when Sasori was traveling, I conversed with the clone, and he alleviated some of my worries.

"Everything that happens to Sasori out there happens to me in here, so as long as nothing is wrong with me, nothing is wrong with him," the clone told me, smiling.

I sighed in relief. "So if he gets hurt, I can go find him? I mean, since you're a copy of him, you should be able to get me out of the base, right? Wait... would healing you heal him?"

"I don't know. No one's ever tried it before. We never really have a need for this technique, so we're not sure what would happen to him if something happened to me."

I nodded in acceptance of this information. The clone gave me a knowing smirk.

"You're really worried about us, aren't you? Or rather him, since he's the real one."

"Yeah..." I admitted with a sheepish smile. "You can't tell him that though. He'll get a big ego. You would too, but I only have to deal with you for a short time."

"Ouch," the clone said with a grin. "That's harsh."

I rolled my eyes. "Somehow I think you'll manage."

"Will I?" the clone teased, a mischievous look on his face.

"Yep."

"He's reached the village and sent out another clone to keep the pursuing ninja busy," the clone informed suddenly.

"He's being pursued?"

"Yeah."

I frowned and grabbed the clone's hand, running a medical examination to make sure making another clone hadn't worn Sasori out or accelerated the spread of the poison. All was well. The clone gave me an amused look as I released his hand.

"I think you're bordering on obsessive there."

"No I'm not. I don't know what the poisons were and I have to make sure he's not gonna end up crumpled in a ball on the forest floor dying."

"Don't worry. I'm fine, and that means he is too."

"I know that, baka. You don't need to tell me a zillion times for me to get it. I just can't leave anything to chance..."

"He's leaving the village," the clone informed again. I nodded. The clone put a hand on my face and leveled his gaze with mine, a sincere smile on his face.

"Stop worrying so much. We don't want you to worry about us."

I smiled and nodded, giving the clone a hug before sitting back down and beginning to mentally run through the steps I needed to take to extract the poison. Once I had reassured myself that everything would run smoothly, I fixed the clone with a serious expression.

"You can't tell Sasori anything I said. He'll go all smirky face on me and I have to deal with him for a long time to come, unlike you. Got it?"

The clone gave me a hurt look. "You're cruel Hotaru."

I gave him a look, and his facial expression turned into a smirk. "I promise I will not tell Sasori what the almighty gypsy-genie Hotaru has spoken of this day."

"Good."

A few moments later, I heard Sasori approaching the doorway and watched him walk in. The clone stood up and greeted him as Sasori set down the herbs in front of me. The clone turned towards me one last time and said, with a huge smirk on his face, "Sasori receives all memory I've collected since the time I was created, by the way." He then raised his hand and disappeared into smoke, leaving me staring at the blank spot with my mouth wide open. Sasori stared at me a moment, and then the clone's memory reached him. He started laughing as my face turned scarlet red in anger and embarrassment.

"Just give me the stupid herbs already..." I muttered, grabbing the shopping bag from him. Since Sasori didn't bother to be a good patient and lay down, I kicked his feet out from under him and pushed him down on his back, starting to mix the herbs together in two different bowls, one for him to drink and the other to extract the poison. Sasori watched me work with laughing eyes from his spot on the floor.

When I was done mixing the liquid I would use to extract the poison, Sasori's face grew serious again and he shut his eyes, bracing himself for the pain that would come with the extraction. I pushed the mixture into his body and closed my eyes, drawing all the poison in his body into it, before pulling it out and dropping mixture and the poison into the empty bowl. I set that bowl aside and gave Sasori the other one to drink, pulling him up and placing his back against a stone.

"I'm not that weak, Hotaru. I don't need help sitting up."

"Too bad. You're not moving until all the poison is gone from your body, even if I have to paralyze you."

Sasori gave me a gentle smile. "Well, if you're going to make me sit here, at least sit with me."

I sighed and sat down next to him, leaning against the rock behind us. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders leaned his head back, relaxing.

"I thought I told you not to move," I grumbled.

"Well then, I guess you better not move me again," he responded with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against his shoulder, opting to run escape strategies in my head while waiting for the antidote to run its course.

… sigh. I hope group planning works better than individual planning, cause otherwise, we're all gonna die.


	11. PLEASE READ

**Hey guys, this is VeganVampy! I was thinking about how ridiculous this story got, and decided at this point in time, it's just pointless, plot-less fluff. Therefore, I am discontinuing Broken Hearts. I may, at some point in time, rewrite it, but that's only if I find the time and inspiration.**

**ACryForHelp: I know I promised I would put your OC in this story, but since I'm discontinuing it, I'll write you a one-shot with the character you would have been paired with instead. I don't particularly like the character though, so I can't promise it'll be a fantastic piece. **

**Thank you all for reading!**

**P.S. At the moment, I'm drifting more towards original stories and poetry, so you probably won't see me on here for extended periods of time. I'm sorry if any of you find disappointment in this, but I am a high school student, and therefore I have little free time, and I prefer to use it to develop my skills as an aspiring author. I mostly need work on character and plot development, and fanfiction has pre-developed characters and basic storylines, which doesn't allow me to focus on improvement.**

**P.P.S. If there are any brand new writers out there looking for something to help start you off, you may use the basic plot of this story to help you get up off the ground, but please ****_do not use the original characters in this_********_story_****.**** They belong to three different people, and therefore using them without permission constitutes art theft. If you want to use the plot, please message me first and send me a link to your story once you've written it.**

**_Thanks so much guys!_**


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